High-riding innominate artery: not so uncommon as expected?

Abstract

Tracheostomy is both an urgent and an elective surgical procedure that is intended to secure the airway and mostly save the life of the affected patient. In elective cases, adequate preparation of the patient and convenience of the surgery reduces the risk on the account of the patient; on the other hand, emergency cases possess the risk of injury to the vital structures.We present two cases of aberrantly high-riding innominate arteries that reach the thyroid isthmus. To best of our knowledge, this entity is rarely reported in the literature. We believe that, this situation is more frequent than expected. Our aim is to raise awareness of the risk and alert the surgeons to possible risks